Remains found in Nassau County could be that of a man who went missing back in 2018, according to family members.
Relatives of missing man Darryl Johnson spoke to First Coast News and said they were called by detectives to a rural area in Hilliard on Saturday.
Family members told First Coast News that Darryl Johnson, who was 65 at the time of his disappearance, was last seen in Hilliard. They said he disappeared just three days after returning home from prison.
"They were saying, 'Well, maybe he just left,'" recalled Michelle Johnson, Darryl Johnson's daughter. "No, that's not like my dad."
The family said the human remains were found by a hunter in the area, not far from Darryl Johnson's home.
Darryl Johnson's family said they are waiting for DNA results to confirm if the remains are his.
"They were saying they were coming to see if they could get some DNA, like a mouth swab, from me," Michelle Johnson said.
Michelle Johnson said among the human remains, was a skull.
"[Detectives] asked me if my dad had dentures, I said 'yes,'" Michelle Johnson told First Coast News. "They said that the skull had no teeth."
First Coast News reported Darryl Johnson's disappearance on Jan. 17, 2018. At the time, he was reported missing and endangered after leaving his residence without his medication. Darryl Johnson was an insulin-dependent diabetic and was also diagnosed with dementia.
Darryl Johnson's daughter, Meranda Johnson, said deputies could have done more to find her father when he was first reported missing.
"At this point, I'm pretty upset because I feel like they didn't do their job in the first place," she said. "Had they brought the dogs out when we asked them to, we probably could have found him at least the day after or the next day."
Michelle Johnson said family and friends conducted a search on their when Darryl Johnson disappeared.
"We tried to clear the whole thing," she said. "We had a lot of people out here searching. [Investigators] wouldn't bring out the dogs."
First Coast News reached out to the Nassau County Sheriff's Office for more information but we have not heard back.
